Welcome to Trellis Counseling!
Have you or a loved one survived something traumatic? Do the memories of what happened keep flooding back again and again? Are you feeling overwhelmed, on-edge, or simply stuck in the past?
Let us help.
Trellis Counseling is proud to offer trauma therapy for teens and adults because everyone deserves a chance to rebuild. Our team of skilled trauma therapists has worked with hundreds of clients from all over Oregon, and we would love to work with you. We strive to offer a safe, compassionate space for you to find hope, heal, and build a life worth living.
If you are interested and ready to get started, please contact us today. Read on to learn more about the signs of trauma and how therapy can help.
Do I need therapy for trauma?
Unfortunately, people experience traumatic life events all the time. Many people mistakenly believe that “trauma” only happens to people in the military or veterans of war. However, trauma can happen to anyone.
Some of the most common causes of trauma include:
- Near-death experiences (e.g., heart attack)
- Violence or combat experience
- Vehicular accidents
- Domestic abuse or violence
- Sexual assault and rape
- Bullying or harassment
- Traumatic grief (sudden, violent, or unexpected loss of a loved one)
- Or witnessing one of these happen to someone else
When we experience something horrific, disturbing, or overwhelming, the mind and body become flooded with intense emotions. The fight-flight-freeze response kicks in as we enter survival mode to help keep us safe at the moment. However, this reaction often comes with lasting effects.
Occasionally, we can recover on our own and regain a sense of safety and security. However, many survivors of trauma continue to experience the aftereffects of trauma, also known as post-traumatic stress.
The warning signs of post-traumatic stress include:
When post-traumatic stress keeps you from working well, having relationships, or enjoying life, we call it Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. However, you don’t have to fully meet the criteria for PTSD in order to seek treatment. Some people will suffer from post-traumatic stress for weeks, months, even years after the event – but it doesn’t have to be that way.
If you or a loved one have survived something traumatic and are experiencing any of these symptoms, there is hope.
No matter how long you’ve struggled, no matter how difficult it may seem, therapy can make a difference. You deserve a chance to rebuild, be well, and have a life worth living.
How can therapy help?
Emotions help us form the strongest memories. For example, you might have fond, happy memories from significant moments in your story – things like birthday parties, graduation ceremonies, or weddings.
Trauma evokes powerful, distressing emotions. Rage. Disgust. Terror. These emotions arise in response to threat and danger in order to help keep us safe at the moment.
The memories of the event are then embedded deeply in the mind, and the mind does it’s best to learn and keep us safe in the future. We become highly sensitive to reminders of what happened, even to the point where similar sights, sounds, or situations can “trigger” a re-experiencing of what happened. To make matters worse, the memories are often improperly processed and confusing, almost like a scratch on a record.
Psychotherapy (also called therapy or counseling) is the most effective treatment option for survivors of trauma because it helps the mind safely process traumatic memories while helping you relearn how to feel well again.
Trauma therapists are specially trained to help you feel safe and supported as you work through scary, painful, disturbing memories. Therapy gives you the chance to express yourself without shame or judgment as you make sense of what happened. Over time, therapy can help you begin to gain a sense of emotional closure, safety, and hope for a better future.
What does therapy look like at Trellis Counseling?
We are here for you.
Each member of our team of trauma therapists is specially trained to provide you with the help you need to overcome the past. You and your therapist meet one-on-one with a focus on your needs and goals for wellness. We strive to help you achieve rapid symptom reduction while taking things at your pace.
As you make progress in therapy for trauma, you can:
- Learn to open up and feel safe again
- Make sense of your thoughts and feelings
- Rebuild your sense of confidence and control
- Decrease sensitivity to trauma triggers
- Discover coping strategies that work for you
- Improve your sense of well-being
We work with teens and adults who have experienced traumatic life events, as well as those who struggle with other issues such as depression, anxiety, gambling addiction, eating disorders, and more.
If you or a loved one are struggling and in need of support, we want to help. Contact us today to get started.
Let us be your Trellis.
A trellis is used in the garden to support the growth of a plant. The design of the trellis is to be “behind-the-scenes” so that the plant can grow and be seen in its glory. Like that trellis, we want to support our clients as they grow and “bloom.”
You deserve support. You deserve a chance to thrive. You deserve a life worth living.
We want to help make that happen.
